ED Nursing articles from August 2005

ED Nursing archives from August 2005

Are patients with life-threatening conditions in your waiting room?
August 1, 2005... Are patients with life-threatening conditions in your waiting room? Lack of reassessment, increasing delays are dangerous combination A man with a mild stomachache, a woman reporting neck pain days after a motor vehicle accident, and a...

Avoid dangerous errors in elderly trauma cases.
August 1, 2005... Avoid dangerous errors in elderly trauma cases Could mistakes made in your ED cause an injured elderly patient to go into fluid overload or become hypothermic? Common errors in nursing practice can be life-threatening for these patients,...

Are conflicts with doctors putting patients at risk?
August 1, 2005... Are conflicts with doctors putting patients at risk? When a physician asks for additional suture material for wound repair and the nurse realizes there is none left, the doctor explodes in anger. In the middle of putting on a patient's...

Warning: Abusive behavior can lead to lawsuits.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Warning: Abusive behavior can lead to lawsuits A male physician has a well-known habit of using vulgar language and continually berating the nursing staff - who all happen to be female. This behavior exposes your ED not only to high...

New medication for ICH stroke patients is coming.
August 1, 2005... New medication for ICH stroke patients is coming A patient comes to your ED with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), the deadliest and least treatable form of stroke, which accounts for 15% of strokes and nearly half of the 164,000 stroke...

JCAHO targets medications: What surveyors are asking.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)
August 1, 2005... JCAHO targets medications: What surveyors are asking Failing to document the medications a patient currently is taking. Nurses mixing "IV piggybacks." Storing drugs in concentrated form. These are three things that can get you into...

Do you have 5-level triage yet? New advice offered.
August 1, 2005... Do you have 5-level triage yet? New advice offered If your ED hasn't switched to a five-level triage system yet, there's no time like the present, according to a report from the joint five-level triage task force of the American College of...

Drastically cut turnaround times for lab results.
August 1, 2005... Drastically cut turnaround times for lab results ED cuts length of stay by 30 minutes Are you struggling to cut delays in getting lab test results? Lab delays can have a dramatic impact on patient flow. "Reduced cycle time allows...

CE Questions.(continuing medical education for emergency department nurses)
August 1, 2005... CE questions After reading this issue of ED Nursing, the CE participant should be able to: *Identify clinical, regulatory, or social issues relating to ED nursing. (See New medication for ICH stroke patients is coming and JCAHO...